Much Ado About (Almost) Nothing?

The recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts (the "Tax Reform Act") made significant changes to the Internal Revenue Code. Although there was a lot of press coverage about potential changes that could significantly impact employer-provided retirement, welfare, and fringe benefits, the reality is that most of the changes did not make it into the final version of the law and, as a result, tax reform did not make any sweeping changes in this area. Notwithstanding that this was much ado about (almost) nothing, nearly all employers, including public, private, and non-profit, need to know and become familiar with what has changed in the new rules and where the status quo remains the same for employer-provided retirement, welfare, and fringe benefits.